Book 4: Chapter 34

Book 4: Chapter 34

Fire in the hole!

Fire in the hole!

Stepping over the clearly marked line behind the multitude of signs informing anyone who could read that this was the test firing range, that it was dangerous to be here, that no one should be here without authorization, and several more warnings, the first thing Kay heard was people shouting. It was a phrase Kay knew well, mostly from Mythbusters episodes, not from any real-life experience, and he immediately hardened a set of armor around his body.

Cindy spoke up before he could dive for the ground or do anything else drastic. Dont worry, were still behind ninety percent of the protections; I just beat safety into everyones heads. Theres no firing anything in the open without shouting out a warning while youre testing it.

A moment later, a massive blast went off, one that was somehow easily recognizable as a cannon firing, even though Kay had only ever heard a single one fired in his life at a performance of the Eighteen-twelve Overture.

Cindy hummed to herself as the blast echoed for a moment. They only fired one piece. That either means theyve wrecked the rest already, or theyre focusing on a specific one for some reason. She smacked Kay on the shoulder and started walking, Youre here to talk about cannons with our newest and only expert, so lets take the opportunity to cross more than one point off your to-do list.This chapter made its debut appearance via N0v3lB1n.

Tell me about Johnson; all I know about him is from the reports.

Cindy snorted a laugh, Theres no point going into detail since youre about to meet him. Summing him up, hes an experienced old timer with more bullshit under his belt than years Ive lived. Thats a quote from the man himself, She told him with a wry look. Hes hard-working and dedicated and will be loyal to us as long as were loyal to him. We got him to come out here with promises of advancement and payment, both of which weve provided, so hes been a crotchety, demanding old man whos been working wonders instead of wandering off into the wilderness and reappearing somewhere else. His qualifications, Im sure you already know, and youll get to experience his personality in a minute or two.

How did someone with Classes like his end up free for us to snatch up? Hes a multi-campaign veteran of the Isermani army with more than one tier-four Class involving siege weapons.

Hes hinted that he was close to hitting tier-five, although now hes going to wait until he can include his new Cannoneer Class into it. Cindy interrupted to add.

Okay, with extra emphasis then, how the hell did we manage to recruit him?

He left the Isermani army due to personal conflicts with a commanding officer.

Which means?

Is that him? Kay asked, not recognizing what he could see of the man.

Yeah, thats old Johnny.

The group turned to look as they approached, and Kay got his first look at their new siege weapon expert. He was a tall, skinny, half-elven man with slightly pointed ears and large green eyes. His long, wavy hair was brown with long streaks of white mixed in throughout. He was taller than Kay, but when he turned fully toward them, there was a noticeable hunch in his back that brought his head down a few inches.

Well, Im assuming youre the Lord Kay, based on the escort, The man said in a surprisingly raspy voice. Nice to meet you. I appreciate the hire too.

Kay shook his hand. Nice to meet you, and I appreciate the good work youve been giving us, Mister Johnson.

Oh, aye, I bet you do. And feel free to call me Johnny or old Johnny. Johnsons too long, and I never liked my first name. He turned and gave the cannon a pat, Too bad you werent a wee bit faster; you could have seen us test this lovely lady.

Im sure you can fire her a few more times for me.

Oh, we can! Always good to test your weapons till they break, just to see how long you can use them. Ive been learnin thats extra true with these explosive fuckers. He leaned against the end and stared at Kay. Although, with how important ya are, Im sure thats not the only reason youre here, and we can always do test firing after we talk. What do you need to get done?

Well, if you want to get right into it like that, Kay replied with a small smile, We need to increase production and training as high as we sustainably can across the board. The introduction of new weapons isnt going to win us the war thats coming, but itll help, and more troops are more troops.

Huh. Well, if ya give me a month, I can get Cannoneer to tier three, and thatll let me speed up training up newbies. Development and production are only partly my business, and this baby here, He smacked the open breech, Is looking to be our current model, so talk to Quol about it, but we can probably get production underway pretty soon. Youll have to find somebody else or have me train somebody to train any sailors you want to get Cannoneer, though; I aint ever going on a ship.

Uh-

Was visiting my uncles as a kid and saw a baby kraken attack a ship that was just leaving port. Had nightmares about it for years, and Ive been terrified of the ocean ever since.

Well, Im not going to force you onto a ship if youre unwilling, so we can definitely find someone for you to train to go train sailors.

Good! Old Johnny walked over to the bunker and grabbed a small woven bag full of powder. Lets fire the lady a few more times to make sure she holds together. Then well see about me having a talk with some of your folks that are buildin the wall around Avalon City. I can probably teach em some tips and tricks I know from bein on the side that tries to tear down the walls.